Bring on the Christmas season

Thanksgiving was also wonderful. Just the eight of us that live here. Which is still a lot, mind you, but normal for us.  

Toasts at the beginning of the meal. 

We decorated our Christmas tree this weekend. Well, Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas tree. We're using their stuff and not getting ours out this year. It'll be a fun year. Lots of good times this weekend setting it all up. 

 And these are some cookies my realtor sent us. He is wonderful. 

I finished my what for now will be my last paint by number! I don't have anymore on my list to do for now. This is for Bill's office at work. 

Chloe looking mighty cute in a hand me down from her cousin sweater.

More hand me downs. So fun to live near cousins!

Gratitude

 Ever since Pres. Nelson's call for a week of gratitude posts on social media, Facebook has been a delightful place. It's so uplifting to read everyone's posts. Makes me want to read more, which is funny, because I generally try to minimize my time there, but it's very nice to read positive posts. 

This week my kids are doing distance learning for the first time since school started. Yesterday went well and I hope today will too. Then we have Thanksgiving Break and then all next week will be distance as well. Hopefully after that the numbers will be acceptable so we can go back to in person school. The school has it so well organized though. It's really a lot easier than when we were all scrambling last spring. 

I didn't take many pictures this week. A few shots of school assignments is about it. We were under a stay at home order in Utah for two weeks, so not a lot went on around here. I have gotten quite far along in this painting. I actually have more finished than in this shot.

And this is Chloe's latest craft from preschool that she brought home yesterday. So cute. 

A few pictures from this week

In-N-Out with Grandma and Grandpa. Super fun. 

Kid dog pile. 

We found a very old souvenir from Bill's aunt who brought it home from her mission in Japan years and years ago. 

This is one of two shelves that were pretty beat up after the move down here. I sanded and repainted them this week. 

This end table also took some damage and I sanded and touched up the parts that got dinged. Looks great again. 

Playing Monopoly. Only a few tears were had. Haha!

Aaron playing Samurai. 

The finished bookshelves. 

We scored a free, brand new bunkbed from a neighbor at church. Feeling blessed!

 

A Mix of Things

 Chloe asked for some purple cabbage for a snack.

I like to get an ornament to represent each year.  I forgot last year and so when I found this customizable one, it was perfect.

Chloe cooking dinner with Daddy. 

Some of my furniture got really scuffed up in the move down here. This is one of a set of bookshelves that I'm sanding and repainting. This is after coat one. I'm super happy to have them looking new again. And I'm going to put a back on it when I finish painting it. 

A paint by number I'm working on for Bill. 

First snow. Or maybe second. We enjoyed it. 

This is the other table that got some chunks knocked out of it. I sanded down the scratchy parts and restrained them and put a coat of tung oil on to seal them and it's basically like new. 

Playing Apples to Apples with cousins. I love living close to them!

Happy Halloween

 We had the best Halloween this year. I'd say the best we've had in years. Spencer wanted to go with his friends, and so we sent Bill's old cellphone with him and let him go alone for the first time ever. He was so thrilled. 

My two nieces and brother-in-law came up and we made pizza and then went trick or treating together and we also picked up our neighbor friends as we headed out, so we had about ten of us. So fun. The neighborhood we're in is just the right size for trick or treating. The houses are close enough together that it's not all walking. The weather was lovely. The kids didn't even wear coats, though they were freezing by the time they got home. We had caramel apples to finish off the night and it was awesome. 

Chloe could keep up. That was one of the best parts. She was practically leading out and they all knew how to say trick or treat and thank you and it just was so easy and pleasant. There were lots of houses that had unique ways of passing out candy to be safer. It really was just nice all around. I loved just going through our neighborhood instead of doing a downtown businesses sort of trick or treating like we have done in recent years. Nice to just be simple and easy and fun.

Grandpa helped us carve pumpkins to start the day. 

Twinners with their hot chocolate and books and English muffins. 

Cousins. I love living close to these cuties. 

Ginny Weasley, a ninja, Wonder Woman, a Sith Trooper, and Bill was a cowboy of sorts.